Back to Busy

Summer came to an end and the school year started off at full speed....looks like we are back to "normal"! We have been loving the chance to get back to some of our favorite things, but it sure has kept us busy. School is going well for everyone. Nyla is loving the college life. Caleb is living it up as an eighth grader. Leah has been rocking it in sixth grade. Joel loves being in fourth grade and in the intermediate building. And, for me, being back in the teaching world part time has been such a great experience so far! Our days are long, but the weeks and months are flying. Here is a bit of what has been keeping us so busy:

The junior high band marched in a Labor Day parade. Leah was thrilled when the band director asked her to help carry the banner.

We have loved the chances we've had to see our sweet girl. She has come home twice and we went down to Champaign once.

 

Caleb is happily taking on another year as the 4H vice president. Even more exciting is the fact that Joel is finally a 4Her as well!

Sports have been a bit time consuming. At one point, we had three kids playing FIVE sports! Joel played soccer for the first time and was a natural. Leah played Fall softball and had a blast. She also tried out for the 6th grade girls basketball team and has had fun doing that. Caleb played a final season of flag football and also tried out for his school volleyball team. He's definitely taken a liking to volleyball and we would love if he stuck with it....it's such a fun sport to watch!

The kids...especially Joel...have been so lucky to have Grandpa and Grandma around. They are a huge help on the days that I work. The bond between these two, though, is the best part of it all. Many times, Grandpa was in charge of picking Joel up from school on the days that Leah stayed after for basketball. And many of those times, the two headed straight to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. Needless to say, it looks like Grandpa might have a golfing buddy, because Joel is obsessed!

Nana Pam's amazing crafting skills came in handy when Caleb had to make a fleece blanket for NJHS.

We took an afternoon trip to Cantigny and it was awesome. Caleb had been there before, but it was a first time trip for the rest of us.

We loved our weekend trip to Champaign. The kids had fun apple picking, walking around campus, seeing Nyla's dorm room, and taking a walk at the park where Tyler proposed 17 years ago!

In-person band concerts are back again!!!

Joel is loving being a part of 4H this year.

We sure do hope he sticks with soccer. It was so fun watching him play!

Leah has loved getting to see all of her Girl Scout buddies again. Doing the food drive collection each year in November is one of our favorites!

Halloween 2021

Halloween of 2020 was a HUGE disappointment because Covid hit our house just a few days before. We definitely made up for it this year! There was lots and lots and lots of candy, gorgeous weather, and a super special visit from Mark, Madelyn, and baby Lydia. We had a great time celebrating and ended up with more candy than any person should ever have in their house....thank goodness their schools donate extra candy to the troops!

8th Grade

It seems impossible that Caleb is heading into his last year of school before high school. Time sure does fly! This will be his second year in middle school and we sure hope it feels a bit more normal than last year. He did such an amazing job rolling with the constant changes last year and we are thankful for the fact that he learned so much about being flexible and understanding through that process. He continues to impress us with the positive character traits he demonstrates. In a year when so many things will probably still be hard or different or less than ideal, we know that he will make the most of it. We can't wait to see how much he grows and changes and learns this year!

What is your name? Caleb

How old are you? 13

What do you want to be when you grow up? a vet or something else with animals

What is your favorite food? This is hard. It depends what mood I'm in.

What is your favorite drink? pop or gatorade

What makes you happy? hanging out with my friends

What makes you sad? Whenever my siblings are annoying.

What is your favorite thing to do at home? relax

Who is your best friend? Ruby

Where is your favorite place to go? the lake

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? talk

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? play sports or games

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? When she's not annoying.

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? He plays games with me. And sports. Sometimes.

What is your favorite book? Harry Potter

What is your favorite movie? Marvel movies and Star Wars movies

Where is your favorite place to eat? Popeyes

What is your favorite thing to wear? my Lamar Jackson jersey 

6th Grade

Leah is our school-loving child! She has loved it from the beginning and nothing has changed that. Even a year full of ups and downs like last year couldn't change her enthusiasm for school. Perhaps her favorite thing about school is socializing, but that's not always a bad thing. She loved getting to have most of her closest friends in class with her last year and she's looking forward to another year with many of the same kids. At one point this summer, she saw several of her friends at a Girl Scout get together and she came home telling me that she almost cried because she was so happy to see her friends. This sweet girl is definitely looking forward to making memories with her friends as the top dogs in her school. Sixth grade here she comes!

What is your name? Leah

How old are you? I'm 11

What do you want to be when you grow up? teacher or be in the army

What is your favorite food? French onion casserole

What is your favorite drink? diet coke

What makes you happy? friends

What makes you sad? People scratching on the plate.

What is your favorite thing to do at home? go outside...play with the neighbors

Who is your best friend? I've got lots. Let's see. Josie, Bridget, and Alexa.

Where is your favorite place to go? Tennessee

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? go shopping

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? when he coaches me

What is the best part about Caleb (brother)? He takes bike rides with me.

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? He watches TV with me.

What is your favorite book? Harry Potter

What is your favorite movie? Scoob

Where is your favorite place to eat? McDonalds

What is your favorite thing to wear? t-shirts

4th Grade

It's hard to believe that our baby is heading off to intermediate school. He still seems way too little to be leaving primary school, but he's definitely ready for bigger and better things! In a heart-to-heart conversation with Tyler, he confessed that he's not looking forward to 4th grade because "that's when kids start to get mean and bully people". It sure stinks to know that there is some truth to his words. We are hoping, though, that the fact that Joel's teachers have always said that he is such a good kid at school and makes friends with everyone will help him have a year full of more positive moments than negative. We hope that his sensitive heart and awareness of others will lead him to defend those who are being treated poorly. No matter what, we know that Joel is going to rock it in 4th grade....once we can get past the adjustment of 6:30am wake-ups ;)

What is your name? obviously Joel

How old are you? nine

What do you want to be when you grow up? electric engineer or a normal inventor

What is your favorite food? smoked chicken

What is your favorite drink? root beer

What makes you happy? ice cream

What makes you sad? My sister. Just kidding. My brother.

What is your favorite thing to do at home? pet the dog

Who is your best friend? Chief

Where is your favorite place to go? Great Wolf Lodge

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? play board games

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? have him as my coach

What is the best part about Caleb (brother)? Sometimes he plays board games with me.

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? Sometimes she plays board games with me.

What is your favorite book? Percy Jackson

What is your favorite movie? Racing Stripes

Where is your favorite place to eat? Raffys

What is your favorite thing to wear? Underarmour

Lake Fun 2021

Another summer has come and gone. As with so many summers before, many of our most precious memories came from days and nights at the lake. We spent a total of three weeks at the lake this year. The first two were at the beginning of July and the final one was at the beginning of August. We had so much fun celebrating July 4th at the lake. It's always awesome to watch the fireworks shoot up all over the lake (unless, of course, you're Chief and you can't stand the sound of fireworks)! The rest of our days were spent enjoying the newly renovated dock. We loved having the extra space and the ability to basically live down there all day (the added fridge and grill were a huge bonus). The extra space was great for our final week down at the lake when the Evans family joined us. We had so much fun hanging out with them and sharing all of our lake love with their family.